For high school I attended Sachem East, which was a part of one of the biggest school districts on Long Island. With about 12 elementary schools (which I can’t even name half of them), 6 middle schools, and 2 high schools, its easy to say there were a whole lot of kids. With about 2,700 kids in each of the high schools and a little over 600 kids in my senior class, there was never that “close-knit” type of community that many of the other school districts across the island had. You never knew even half the kids in your grade, no less the rest of the school, and were always seeing unfamiliar faces.
One issue with having such a huge school was that you never really develop close relationships with your teachers. You go to class, do your work, and leave without much more interaction. They grade hundreds of papers a day and not many names ever stick out to them. The only way to make an impression is to be one of the best in the class.
Wanting to major in Chemistry in college, I knew I had to stand out to my AP chemistry teacher, Mr. Holden. This is what pushed me to do so well in that class. Every test I strived to do better than the last, always trying to get the best grade and show the teacher that I actually have what it takes to pursue chem. Halfway through the year is when the hard work really started paying off. He realized all the work I was putting in and really helped me prepare for the work I would see in college. Whenever we would do labs in class, he would come over to me and we would have a long discussion about the lab and what was really happening, but it usually ended up on some different Chemistry topic. It was great that he could share all he knew about chem in basic ways that I could understand it and really helped me enjoy learning. Most kids absolutely hate chemistry more than anything, but because I learned so much more than the basic formulas and concepts, I was really able to grow to love it. He pushed me to do the best I could in that class and helped grow my love for Chemistry. He was a great teacher and person and truly loved chemistry as much as I did.
Besides for discovering and growing my love for Chemistry, one of the best things that could have possibly happened to me in high school was meeting my best friend. She not only helped me push through the long hours of school work, but also helped me to become the person I am today. Before I met her I was a very quiet kid who mostly kept to myself. The friends I had were very selfish and I only stayed around them to ensure I always had "friends". But once I met my current best friend Victoria all of this changed. I realized that there were people who actually cared about me and my life, and that I didn't just have to sit in the background any longer. She is very smart, ranked 10th in our class of 600 kids, and pushed me to achieve as much as I could. It was always a competition between us for grades, one week she would score higher in Chemistry and the next I would. We are both VERY sarcastic and competitive in nature so as we grew closer we constantly pushed each other to work harder than the other and to be better than the other. We always acted as if we were siblings, messing with each other and ALWAYS trying to be better and we really used that to our advantage. Without her, I wouldn't have the grades or work ethic I have today. Even being 1,500 miles apart from each other, we video-chat and text daily, keeping our grade competition going strong throughout college. Just this week I told her all excitedly that I got a 24/25 on my chem quiz and she replied with “that’s awesome and I don’t mean to totally shoot you down but I got a 98 on my test today,” so now this is war. I can guarantee you that the next time we have any kind of test or quiz I WILL beat her!
By bonding with my HS chemistry teacher and meeting my best friend, I have been able to grow not only academically, but also socially. I can act totally normal and be myself all the time around Victoria and not worry about the judgment I got from old “friends.” And not only am I more comfortable, but I can excel in my school work because she pushes me to do more. These two relationships really helped me to become the person I am today.
One issue with having such a huge school was that you never really develop close relationships with your teachers. You go to class, do your work, and leave without much more interaction. They grade hundreds of papers a day and not many names ever stick out to them. The only way to make an impression is to be one of the best in the class.
Wanting to major in Chemistry in college, I knew I had to stand out to my AP chemistry teacher, Mr. Holden. This is what pushed me to do so well in that class. Every test I strived to do better than the last, always trying to get the best grade and show the teacher that I actually have what it takes to pursue chem. Halfway through the year is when the hard work really started paying off. He realized all the work I was putting in and really helped me prepare for the work I would see in college. Whenever we would do labs in class, he would come over to me and we would have a long discussion about the lab and what was really happening, but it usually ended up on some different Chemistry topic. It was great that he could share all he knew about chem in basic ways that I could understand it and really helped me enjoy learning. Most kids absolutely hate chemistry more than anything, but because I learned so much more than the basic formulas and concepts, I was really able to grow to love it. He pushed me to do the best I could in that class and helped grow my love for Chemistry. He was a great teacher and person and truly loved chemistry as much as I did.
Besides for discovering and growing my love for Chemistry, one of the best things that could have possibly happened to me in high school was meeting my best friend. She not only helped me push through the long hours of school work, but also helped me to become the person I am today. Before I met her I was a very quiet kid who mostly kept to myself. The friends I had were very selfish and I only stayed around them to ensure I always had "friends". But once I met my current best friend Victoria all of this changed. I realized that there were people who actually cared about me and my life, and that I didn't just have to sit in the background any longer. She is very smart, ranked 10th in our class of 600 kids, and pushed me to achieve as much as I could. It was always a competition between us for grades, one week she would score higher in Chemistry and the next I would. We are both VERY sarcastic and competitive in nature so as we grew closer we constantly pushed each other to work harder than the other and to be better than the other. We always acted as if we were siblings, messing with each other and ALWAYS trying to be better and we really used that to our advantage. Without her, I wouldn't have the grades or work ethic I have today. Even being 1,500 miles apart from each other, we video-chat and text daily, keeping our grade competition going strong throughout college. Just this week I told her all excitedly that I got a 24/25 on my chem quiz and she replied with “that’s awesome and I don’t mean to totally shoot you down but I got a 98 on my test today,” so now this is war. I can guarantee you that the next time we have any kind of test or quiz I WILL beat her!
By bonding with my HS chemistry teacher and meeting my best friend, I have been able to grow not only academically, but also socially. I can act totally normal and be myself all the time around Victoria and not worry about the judgment I got from old “friends.” And not only am I more comfortable, but I can excel in my school work because she pushes me to do more. These two relationships really helped me to become the person I am today.